Oct. 5, 2005
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State athletic director Jeff Schemmel announced the hiring Wednesday of Don Kessler as head athletic trainer. With over 30 years of experience in college athletics, Kessler will be in charge of the Aztecs' athletic training and strength and conditioning departments after having spent the last 18 years working at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J.
"We are thrilled to add to our staff a person of Don's expertise and experience," Schemmel said. "He will provide great leadership to our already impressive team."
Kessler most recently was the Coordinator of Athletic Training Services for the Scarlet Knights, where he supervised a staff of 11 full-time athletic trainers, who provide coverage and rehabilitative care for 30 intercollegiate teams and 1,000 student-athletes.
He began his professional career in collegiate athletics at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1972, while serving as a hospital corpsman during the Vietnam War from 1971-75. After two years as head athletic trainer and a teacher at Delran High School in New Jersey, Kessler spent a decade at Princeton University where he was involved with 13 different sports, including football.
In addition to his experience in college athletics, Kessler has worked with the U.S. Olympic Committee, USRowing and the United States Soccer Federation. Most recently, he was the athletic trainer for the rowing team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
A certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) since 1976, Kessler was part of NATA's board of directors for research and education from 1996-2001. He has also served as president of both the Eastern Athletic Trainers Association and Athletic Trainers Society of New Jersey.
Kessler, who attended Rutgers from 1965-67, is a 1970 graduate of the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark., with a degree in physical education. He played soccer and competed in cross country and track for the Eagles, garnering eight varsity letters in all, while earning the school's outstanding athlete award as a senior. Kessler also has a master's degree in physical education, graduating with a 4.0 GPA from the University of Arkansas (1971).
A native of Riverside, N.J., his wife, Maggie, was an All-American soccer player at Rutgers. His son, Gregg, is a 1995 Rutgers graduate and is a middle school science teacher in Woodland Hills, Calif.